Opinion category, Page 281
Letter to the editor: God, the Bible and governing
James Madison, the primary author of our Constitution, had it right when he stated: “We have staked the whole future of our new Nation, not upon the power of government; far from it. We have staked the future of all our political Constitutions upon the capacity of each of ourselves...
Letter to the editor: RGGI good for Pa.
Pennsylvania recently joined the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a multistate, bipartisan program to cut carbon pollution coming from power plants, which Pennsylvania produces more of than all but four other states. The RGGI is a big success in 11 other states. Statistics show RGGI will reduce Pennsylvania’s carbon pollution...
Editorial: Pennsylvania lawmakers need training camp
The Pittsburgh Steelers are back in training camp. The team descended on Saint Vincent College in Unity on Wednesday prepared to settle in for the long haul, bringing TVs, pillows and snacks. They will spend their time at the school focused on developing their skills as individuals and a team...
Letter to the editor: Division and corruption in America
Did you ever think you’d see America so divided and corrupted as it is today? Yes, I’m aware there are many great people doing great things all over the place, but sometimes it seems overshadowed by all the craziness, violence, deceit and moral decay. Mass shootings daily, cities imploding and...
Marci A. Hamilton: Time to open window for sex abuse survivors
Who takes their car to a mechanic, learns what repairs are needed and walks out without getting the actual work done? Who goes to a doctor, gets a diagnosis and leaves without pain relievers, a prescription or a referral to physical therapy? No one, right? But isn’t this really what’s...
Letter to the editor: Fight back against left-wing lunacy
The average American citizen is beginning to wake up and see the destruction being put upon our society by the radical left (the new Democratic Party). People are fighting back against the Democrats’ attempts to promote transgender activism, especially when aimed at our children, including radical life-changing sex reassignment surgeries,...
Editorial: Filling office space might mean changing ideas
Supply and demand is a pretty simple concept. Give the people what they want. If you see that one thing isn’t selling, you pivot to something else. It’s part of the legend of many a great fortune. Take Henry Heinz. Before he found success with the broad appeal of pickles...
Letter to the editor: Trump’s treachery
I recently read an article by Thom Hartmann, “How Much Damage Has the Trump-Putin Collusion Inflicted on America?” that included the following: In 1977, Donald Trump married Ivana, who was raised as a good Czech communist, whose father was an informer for the spy outfit StB. For the Soviet Union,...
Cal Thomas: Tony Bennett, more than a ‘crooner’
It was in the early ’60s. I was a copy boy at NBC News, and the overnight disc jockey for the local radio station called and asked if I’d like to go on a boat ride down the Potomac River with his guest, Tony Bennett. For several hours we cruised...
Elwood Watson: In Florida, learn about the benefits of slavery
Florida has justly earned its recent reputation as the most dysfunctional, surreal and outlandish state in the nation. The so-called Sunshine State continues to promote high-profile lunacy. Last week, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the new, updated framework for how Black history will be taught in K-12 schools, including guidelines that...
Christopher Briem: The painful truth of population decline
Few Americans have studied the plight of formerly industrialized cities more closely than Alan Mallach. Throughout his career, the noted community development expert has delved into the challenges facing many small and medium-sized communities that have had to deal with concentrated deindustrialization, disinvestment, and population contraction. He has distilled much...
Letter to the editor: Trump should pay the price
Let me get this straight. Donald Trump is expecting to get indicted on charges resulting from Jan. 6. Well, shouldn’t he? I’m tired of all his witch hunt crap. He is an ex-president who did wrong. If it was you or I, we would have to pay the cost. We...
Editorial: Senior centers could be model for providing human services
Senior centers are more than just a place to play cards. They are a daily place of comfort and camaraderie, yes, but they have offerings beyond lunch with friends or a hand of Hearts. In Allegheny and Westmoreland counties alone, there are 53 offices that aren’t really offices so much...
Letter to the editor: Conservatives call each other out
I believe the Pennsylvania GOP and the Commonwealth Partners Chamber of Entrepreneurs have developed a strategy to stand against all MAGA candidates. Matthew Brouillette, founder and CEO of Commonwealth Partners, can hardly contain himself with his disdain for Donald Trump, Doug Mastriano, Joe Gale and any MAGA candidate (“Pa. primary...
Tom Purcell: A/C has made life cooler
As a heat wave hits America from coast to coast, it’s hot outside — but cool inside, thanks to the triumph of air conditioning. For most of human history, there was little people could do to avoid heat. During the day, it drove people outside of their homes to enjoy...
Kevin Sabet: Pa. politicians’ pot push won’t be boon they claim
Over the last decade, the drive to legalize marijuana has been the subject of a significant public relations campaign. Throughout the country, the push to erase any stigma associated with marijuana has essentially become part of contemporary pop culture. In a vast effort to influence perceptions, musicians, actors, media personalities...
Dr. Asif Ilyas: Education needed for opioid prescribing in Appalachia
The escalating opioid crisis, especially in the Appalachian region, is a stark reminder of the harsh realities of addiction. A recently published study by the Rothman Orthopaedic Institute Foundation for Opioid Research and Education illuminates the alarming rise of opioid- related deaths in the Appalachian region, disproportionately higher than the rest...
Matt Bradford: A self-inflicted Pa. budget crisis
In a very complicated place like the state Capitol, for once, things are simple. There is no budget impasse. And there was no “Great Betrayal.” The hyperbolic rhetoric from the Senate over the past few weeks would make you think otherwise and requires that the record be set straight. As...
Letter to the editor: Route 30 needs PennDOT’s attention
What is PennDOT planning to do with Route 30 from Ligonier to Greensburg? There are bumps big enough to ski down and potholes so deep they could open a wave pool. If they don’t do anything this year, they will be two-bedroom apartments by November. To be fair, they paved...
Editorial: Require more transparency, less politics
Football practice will begin next week at Pennsylvania’s big state-related universities, but the Legislature’s game of political football with the institutions’ funding is a year-round, far-less-entertaining spectacle. Teams from Penn State and Temple universities and the University of Pittsburgh all will have played at least three games by the time...
Letter to the editor: Climate change not causing more wildfires
The air is smoky again, and the media smoke is all about how climate change (warming) is causing more and more wildfires. As a retired U.S. Forest Service employee and one who has been recognized by federal courts as an expert in public lands policy and history, I can say...
Editorial cartoons for the week of July 24
Editorial cartoons for the week of July 24....
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of July 24
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of July 24....
Letter to the editor: Book-banning futility
The article, “Hempfield book policies up for future vote with further revision” (July 10, TribLIVE), states that the school district is banning pictures of female breasts. How perverse. I believe this book banning thing has gone too far. Are we going back to the Spanish Inquisition with banning books and...
Letter to the editor: Biden won’t accept ‘no’ on student loans
President Biden’s plan to cancel an estimated $430 billion of student loan debt that is now held by more than 40 million borrowers was struck down by the Supreme Court. He has now proposed a “Plan B,” which, like his original scheme, is intended to minimize the cost of, or...
